Ohio judge alters lethal injection formula

ELYRIA, Ohio, June 11 (UPI) -- A judge in Ohio has ordered the state to use a single large dose of barbiturates to execute condemned prisoners.

The order by Judge James Burge of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas came after Burge ruled that the combination of three chemicals the state was using for lethal injections may produce excruciating pain, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Burge's decision was based on an Ohio law requiring that lethal injections use "a drug or combination of drugs of sufficient dosage to quickly and painlessly cause death."

He appeared to concede that a constitutional challenge to Ohio's lethal injection protocol would fail under the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Kentucky case.

The high court's decision in that case did not prevent all challenges to lethal injections but said challengers must show a demonstrated risk of severe pain along with a feasible alternative for significantly reducing that risk.